ABSTRACT
Context: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are those cells that separate from the primary tumor to enter circulation. This is facili- tated by Epithelial -Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) or through Non EMT based modalities by passive entry into circulation. CTCs are responsible for causing distant metastasis. Objectives: This review article briefly describes few of the mechanisms of CTC production and survival and few methods that are used to detect CTCs Materials and Methods: Data was collected and analyzed from published literature and electronic database searches of PubMed and Google Scholar. Result: CTCs acquire genetic alteration that differentiates them from the primary tumor. Majority of CTCs do not survive in the circulation but the few that do, do so by adapting various survival mechanisms. Conclusion: Detection of CTCs help in the early diagnosis of cancer, providing patient tailored therapy and for monitoring of cancer.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Corn husks are the major wastes of corn industries with meagre economic significance. The present study was planned for value addition of corn husk through extraction of xylan, followed by its enzymatic hydrolysis into xylooligosaccharides, a pentose based prebiotic. Compositional analysis of corn husks revealed neutral detergent fibre 68.87%, acid detergent fibre 31.48%, hemicelluloses 37.39%, cellulose 29.07% and crude protein 2.68%. Irrespective of the extraction conditions, sodium hydroxide was found to be more effective in maximizing the yield of xylan from corn husks than potassium hydroxide (84% vs. 66%). Application of xylanase over the xylan of corn husks resulted into production of xylooligosaccharides with different degree of polymerization namely, xylobiose and xylotriose in addition to xylose monomer. On the basis of response surface model analysis, the maximum yield of xylobiose (1.9 mg/ml) was achieved with the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of pH 5.8, temperature 44°C, enzyme dose 5.7U/ml and hydrolysis time of 17.5h. Therefore, the corn husks could be used as raw material for xylan extraction vis a vis its translation into prebiotic xylooligosaccharides.